Magical Muscat

This trip has taught me many lessons about both myself, humanity and travel in general. One of those lessons that was solidified in Oman was to not judge the country based on the people you interact with at the airport.

We had a rough start in Oman that culminated in our (hotel provided) driver asking how much it cost Erik to marry me. I tried to brush it off and we just went right to bed when we got to the hotel anyway.

Every second after that was absolutely delightful! Every tour guide we had was so kind, all our taxi drivers texted us after saying they were so glad to have met us and locals helped us whenever they could. Every morsel of food was 10/10 and being there at the end of Ramadan was very special. After being there for 4ish days, I cannot wait to go back and cannot wait to tell everyone – YOU MUST GO TO OMAN!

I believe I found out about Oman from my lovely cousin, Sarah. She had mentioned that it’s starting to grow its tourism industry. Always wanting to get to the middle east, I had to check it out. If you google Oman and look at the pictures, you’ll be floored. Immediately, it was added to the 7-continent trip itinerary.

Based on the Google pictures we know we had to spend time in nature while in Oman. Originally, we had booked two nights to stay in a desert camp, and then two in the city. Plans fell through for that, so we ended up having 4 days in Muscat and relied on day trips.

Our first location was Wadi Shab. This was one of the most interesting hikes I’ve ever been on! It started by taking a boat across a river, literally from one side to the other. From there we started a 40 minute hike through the valley. The mountains that surrounded us were all red, dusty rocks. But along the valley river it was lush green with bright clear water. It was curvy and uneven, at times we walked under beautiful rocky overhangs.

We had to bring our swimsuits and a towel, I thought we were simply able to swim at some point during the hike. I didn’t realize that there was then a whole portion of swimming! We hopped in the water and swam through the first section. The middle of the swim/hike was a mixture of deep pits, trickling streams and waist-deep walking. Eventually, we got to the end of the hike which included a much longer swim, through a small cave and on the other side was a small waterfall (with a rope!). We went straight to the rope, climbed up and jumped. So fun! A few others in the group joined in while the rest of us clung to the side of the cave. After a while, we decided it was time to head back. The adventure back was just as exciting as the adventure in, seeing a fresh perspective and all new views on the way back.

Before heading back to town we made two other quick stops, one was a seaside cabana to eat lunch. Erik gobbled up his food and went to explore by the water while the rest of us finished. He came back with a tiny little puffer fish skeleton and said there were just hundreds and hundreds lining the beach! Very peculiar.

Next up was another swimming opportunity, again Erik was one of the few to participate. It was the Bimmah Sinkhole, which is a 50m x 70m naturally caused sinkhole just in the middle of the desert. The sinkhole is filled with beautifully colored water that was an additional 20m deep. You could see where the drop off happens, that water is an ominously dark blue portion. I’ll be honest, standing on the side it was a bit terrifying to see Erik floating over the deep portion of the sinkhole!

We were so spent from the long day that we decided to order room service and crash as early as possible.

The next day we had another big adventure planned – snorkeling around the Ad Dimaniyat Islands of the coast of Muscat. We were, what seems to now be the case, the last ones to arrive at the meeting point which meant as soon as we arrived we went right to the boat! We sat in the back to watch the city get smaller and smaller behind us as we cruised out to the islands.

The plan was to snorkel in two different spots, one because the turtles live there and a second quieter spot we can also hike. We pulled up to the first island and we were the only boat there. Erik and I lined up first to get off the boat and our guide told us exactly where we needed to go to see the turtles. So, in we went and we b-lined it for the turtles. We saw a few fish and coral on our way over to the spot as well as a couple of solo turtles. They were so friendly, swimming right up to you and back down. We were told to keep our distance and to definitely not touch them, but they were making it hard!

It was incredible to see these turtles, it was maybe 3 or 4 swimming around us and we weren’t even to the spot yet! We got to the area a few minutes later and didn’t see anything other than a few one or two more, but I looked in the distance and could see piles of things on the sea floor. We swam a little closer and I counted over 30 turtles in a huge cuddle puddle at the bottom of the ocean! Sizes ranged from a foot across to a yard, some had huge chunks out of their shell taken out and others had just mesmerizing patters on their backs. Up and down they went, each taking 3 breaths of air before diving down again. Some came over to us and some looked like they were going to take us out on their way up to the surface! It was just stunning! Erik had spent two days snorkeling in Maldives to see one turtle, but here it was a simple 7 minute swim from the boat to see ten’s! So so cool!

The area started to get crowded by people in our group so we tooted around the water, seeing some more beautiful fish and taking breaks at the beach when necessary. We had about an hour in that location and by the time we were all on the boat we saw why – there were five boats pulling up near the coast, one boat parking directly over the sea turtle spot (ugh!!)! We loaded up and headed towards a quieter spot.

When we arrived we pulled right up onto the beach and started with a short hike up to the top. It overlooked the islands and the big sea. There was a part of the island you couldn’t get down to the water which was where the sharks liked to swim. We saw one lone shark swimming in the distance. The hike was nice but we didn’t want to waste any precious snorkeling time! Off we went back into the water.

The water here was different, it got deeper faster and there were less fish in general. We swam over to a spot that our tour guide had recommended and saw something pop up right way – we thought it was a stingray! We swam closer and I noticed two, then three, then four and five more. They were all swimming in a line, equally spaced apart and as they swam we realized they were squid, not stingrays! We watched them for a while and then checked out another part of the water. Erik saw them again later and saw them change colors right in front of him, so cool!

After that spot we headed back to the city, what an incredible day it was out on the water. I had not anticipated really ever seeing turtles or squid, let alone swim with them. That night for dinner we checked out a Lebenese restaurant and while we did see some cockroaches, we decided to stay anyway (😐). We settled on a pizza that was a thing philodough type base with a layer of cheese, another layer of dough and the top was meat and spices. It was amazing, but, also, cockroaches.

The next day was rather stressful, we had planned a half day tour with a guide through the website Tinggly. Don’t every use them. They make it impossible to get in touch with the actual host and they also refuse to take the blame for anything – more on that in Ethiopia. Needless to say, we had no idea what time we were meeting or who we were meeting the next morning. So, we showed up at 9 and crossed our fingers.

Guess what?! As soon as we came off the elevator our tour guide was pulling up and greeted us right away as if there was no concern on his part. Which was great! His name was Sayid, which means happy, and he admitted that, “no, not everyday” he’s happy – I knew we were in good hands! Our first stop was the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. I had worn long pants, t-shirt and a scarf to cover my hair. Unfortunately, at this mosque that was not enough. There was a woman on staff that was helping everyone get dressed, so when it was my turn she put the burqa on me and I was able to use my own scarf as she delicately wrapped and tucked it around my head.

I was all set and felt so lovely as we walked into the mosque. And WOW! Another incredibly glamourous, grandiose and over the top mosque! Which had been the biggest until the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi opened. We walked the halls and around the outside and just couldn’t stop saying “wow” with every turn. As we walked Sayid shared so much incredible information with us, the 5 main pillars of Islam and what day to day life should look like as a practicing student.

He could tell we were open to learning more so he took us to the informational area, where volunteers sat all day to answer questions of any visitors. Erik asked a great question about life after death, in which he asked, “What have you heard?” – Erik didn’t answer truthfully and said that he didn’t know if he had heard anything. I think the US had flooded it’s citizens with BS stories and ideas of Islam and it’s honestly disappointing. The answer we heard, and the answers we received when we asked additional questions were all incredibly heartfelt and generous. If I had been shopping for a religion, I honestly would have been curious. Readers, don’t be idiots. Please, just listen to your fellow humans, obviously not about absurd conspiracy theories or the idea that Trump was good for the country – but be open to each other’s lives, how each person lives. It’s surprising how good most people are, and that’s me saying that!

Anyway. After that we headed to the fish market and then to the largest area of souks in Muscat. While we were there he was informed that the Opera House was closed already for the Eid holiday and so he was going to piece together a few other beautiful things to see. Which he did exactly that! He drove us around pointing out historical sights and monuments. We drove past all of the sultans home’s and told us what to expect at each of the mansions for Eid. He showed us old town of Muscat and told us all about how he and his family (8 sisters, 4 brothers) would celebrate the up coming holiday. He was a true delight and entertained us for well into the afternoon.

It was a rocky start to the day with a horrible experience with Tinggly but Sayid was the most perfect person to spend our final day in Oman with. That night we had an authentic Omani dinner and went to bed early to make sure we were alive for our 2am wake up!

Of all the countries we have been to so far, Oman is the one country I will root for endlessly! The people are kind, the food is amazing, their natural surroundings are incredible and their culture is so open. Please. Please go visit. And be kind.